Mandy Nolan has performed as a standup comedian for more than 20 years. During that time, she has worked alongside celebrities such as Whoopi Goldberg, Ertha Kit, and Bob Downe. Amid a full schedule of live acts, television and radio appearances, a weekly press column in The Echo and a comedy course (did we mention she also has five children?), Mandy also finds time as a MC, presenter and conference facilitator.
See Mandy’s Soapbox every week here in Echonetdaily.
Showing content from:Mandy Nolan
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Climate Change, Coal and the Flushing Toilet
Mandy Nolan - 1
Sometimes I wonder why people seem to have stopped caring about climate change. Is it because it’s too big? Is it because we have a Prime Minister who is in a dirty love triangle with coal and gas? Or is it the convenience of the flushing toilet?
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: The End of an Era
As the Entertainment Editor I have interviewed some very interesting people. Like the multi-orgasmic man; a Dutch orgasm coach living in a yurt, and Tim (Pricasso) who paints with his penis. I have also interviewed musicians. Probably not quite as interesting as the aforementioned group, but whose stories and chats have formed a wonderful part of my week over the last two decades. I have had the privilege of talking to some of my heroes.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: When ‘Yes’ means ‘No’
It seems that even in alternative communities, sexual politics haven’t really been that alternative. Patriarchal narrative reigns supreme. Men tend to be the ‘gurus’, and as it turns out, gurus still like their cock sucked. Generally, by young women.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: When Schools Refuse to Change
Schools could become community learning hubs rather than giant cerebral supermarkets for growing brains. What if we created a system that fed and nourished our young, rather than shaming and penalising them?
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Missing You
I would have said that ours is a safe town. So how can a boy just vanish? There are theories of what happened – but until he is found, they are only that: theories.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Elvis has Left the Building
Mandy Nolan - 7
My dog died. I haven’t been able to write about it until now. It was a month ago, and he was old, but it was still unexpected, and it leaves you feeling a bit raw.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Using Your Influence
Mandy Nolan - 1
What is an influencer? It seems that we say the word, but most people over 35 don’t really have a clue what it means in the context of social media and brand marketing.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Byron’s Back
‘Byron’s dead’. That’s the statement that I often hear. Or ‘I never go there anymore it’s lost’ or ‘Byron died years ago’. It always makes me feel a bit sad and defensive. I have such a love for this place, although I curse it when I get stuck in snaking traffic at 8am on a weekday morning or I can’t find a park near where I am going.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: The New Resilience
Mandy Nolan - 6
Resilience is dead. The word has been overused. Some may say the word is no longer resilient. We broke it. It’s unfortunate because it was a really good word.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: The Mask of Freedom
Today in Mullumbimby I witnessed a woman blowing bubbles on people. She was walking with her dog and blowing bubbles over passers-by. What is usually the magical work of the fairy tribe, today it had a kind of aggression. The bubbles weren’t by accident. This was a ‘Fuck You’ to mask wearing. A fuck you to people wearing masks. A fuck you to the existence of this coronavirus.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Snooze You Lose
Mandy Nolan - 5
There is no more delicious place to be than in my bed. So I hit snooze. I stole nine minutes from myself. Then the alarm went off again. I bargained with myself for another nine minutes.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: We are coming for you
On Monday we marched around this country to say ENOUGH. We called for an end to sexual abuse and violence against women. We called for an end to the privilege of a patriarchy that has seen our integrity questioned, and not our perpetrators. We will not let this conversation waver.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Dear Brittany
Mandy Nolan - 6
We watched you. We watched you break the silence. We heard the truth shatter like a glass hitting the tiles.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: There is no place like home… actually there are no places
Local low income residents in Byron Bay are the human koalas of our Shire. They too have lost much of their habitat. We need affordable housing now, not in three years, or five years, or ten. Now.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Skimpy Excuses for Men’s Behaviour
My shirt is not an invitation to rape me. My dress is not an invitation to follow me home. My strappy singlet is not the reason you lost your job. My body is not responsible for your behaviour.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: The Power of Letting Go
Mandy Nolan - 7
What would you do if someone killed your children? A year ago, when the three children and niece of Leila and Danny Abdallah were struck and killed by a drunk driver while they were walking to get ice cream, I wondered how those parents made sense of that immediate loss.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Zip it Sweetie
Mandy Nolan - 3
The other day my friend told me she was watching a horse race and one of the horses was called ‘Zipitsweetie’. She was appalled. The name is supposed to be funny! A phrase usually used by a man telling a woman to shut up. To ‘zip it’, followed by the belittling term ‘sweetie’. That’s a statement of power and control used to silence women. Used to minimise us. It’s so normalised someone was comfortable about using it to name their racehorse.
Interview with Phil Manning of Chain
Mandy Nolan - 0
Phil Manning picked up the guitar at 15. He’s been playing now for nearly 58 years. This year, Chain play the Byron Blues Festival.
Interview with Laura Bloom
Mandy Nolan - 0
Writer Laura Bloom has just released The Women and The Girls her latest novel with Allen & Unwin. Set in the inner west of Sydney in the mid ‘70s the book details the story of three women who have left their husbands, taken their children (mainly girls) and set up a share house.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: The Ears Have It
Mandy Nolan - 8
It’s 6am, the sun is only just nudging its way through the clouds. I am up early to write my Soapbox. I was going to write on something else, but this morning when I woke and stumbled to my desk I saw my open diary: 22 January, Michael’s birthday. He would have been 61 today.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Climate Change, Coal and the Flushing Toilet
Mandy Nolan - 1
Sometimes I wonder why people seem to have stopped caring about climate change. Is it because it’s too big? Is it because we have a Prime Minister who is in a dirty love triangle with coal and gas? Or is it the convenience of the flushing toilet?
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: The End of an Era
As the Entertainment Editor I have interviewed some very interesting people. Like the multi-orgasmic man; a Dutch orgasm coach living in a yurt, and Tim (Pricasso) who paints with his penis. I have also interviewed musicians. Probably not quite as interesting as the aforementioned group, but whose stories and chats have formed a wonderful part of my week over the last two decades. I have had the privilege of talking to some of my heroes.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: When ‘Yes’ means ‘No’
It seems that even in alternative communities, sexual politics haven’t really been that alternative. Patriarchal narrative reigns supreme. Men tend to be the ‘gurus’, and as it turns out, gurus still like their cock sucked. Generally, by young women.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: When Schools Refuse to Change
Schools could become community learning hubs rather than giant cerebral supermarkets for growing brains. What if we created a system that fed and nourished our young, rather than shaming and penalising them?
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Missing You
I would have said that ours is a safe town. So how can a boy just vanish? There are theories of what happened – but until he is found, they are only that: theories.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Elvis has Left the Building
Mandy Nolan - 7
My dog died. I haven’t been able to write about it until now. It was a month ago, and he was old, but it was still unexpected, and it leaves you feeling a bit raw.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Using Your Influence
Mandy Nolan - 1
What is an influencer? It seems that we say the word, but most people over 35 don’t really have a clue what it means in the context of social media and brand marketing.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Byron’s Back
‘Byron’s dead’. That’s the statement that I often hear. Or ‘I never go there anymore it’s lost’ or ‘Byron died years ago’. It always makes me feel a bit sad and defensive. I have such a love for this place, although I curse it when I get stuck in snaking traffic at 8am on a weekday morning or I can’t find a park near where I am going.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: The New Resilience
Mandy Nolan - 6
Resilience is dead. The word has been overused. Some may say the word is no longer resilient. We broke it. It’s unfortunate because it was a really good word.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: The Mask of Freedom
Today in Mullumbimby I witnessed a woman blowing bubbles on people. She was walking with her dog and blowing bubbles over passers-by. What is usually the magical work of the fairy tribe, today it had a kind of aggression. The bubbles weren’t by accident. This was a ‘Fuck You’ to mask wearing. A fuck you to people wearing masks. A fuck you to the existence of this coronavirus.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Snooze You Lose
Mandy Nolan - 5
There is no more delicious place to be than in my bed. So I hit snooze. I stole nine minutes from myself. Then the alarm went off again. I bargained with myself for another nine minutes.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: We are coming for you
On Monday we marched around this country to say ENOUGH. We called for an end to sexual abuse and violence against women. We called for an end to the privilege of a patriarchy that has seen our integrity questioned, and not our perpetrators. We will not let this conversation waver.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Dear Brittany
Mandy Nolan - 6
We watched you. We watched you break the silence. We heard the truth shatter like a glass hitting the tiles.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: There is no place like home… actually there are no places
Local low income residents in Byron Bay are the human koalas of our Shire. They too have lost much of their habitat. We need affordable housing now, not in three years, or five years, or ten. Now.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Skimpy Excuses for Men’s Behaviour
My shirt is not an invitation to rape me. My dress is not an invitation to follow me home. My strappy singlet is not the reason you lost your job. My body is not responsible for your behaviour.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: The Power of Letting Go
Mandy Nolan - 7
What would you do if someone killed your children? A year ago, when the three children and niece of Leila and Danny Abdallah were struck and killed by a drunk driver while they were walking to get ice cream, I wondered how those parents made sense of that immediate loss.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Zip it Sweetie
Mandy Nolan - 3
The other day my friend told me she was watching a horse race and one of the horses was called ‘Zipitsweetie’. She was appalled. The name is supposed to be funny! A phrase usually used by a man telling a woman to shut up. To ‘zip it’, followed by the belittling term ‘sweetie’. That’s a statement of power and control used to silence women. Used to minimise us. It’s so normalised someone was comfortable about using it to name their racehorse.
Interview with Phil Manning of Chain
Mandy Nolan - 0
Phil Manning picked up the guitar at 15. He’s been playing now for nearly 58 years. This year, Chain play the Byron Blues Festival.
Interview with Laura Bloom
Mandy Nolan - 0
Writer Laura Bloom has just released The Women and The Girls her latest novel with Allen & Unwin. Set in the inner west of Sydney in the mid ‘70s the book details the story of three women who have left their husbands, taken their children (mainly girls) and set up a share house.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: The Ears Have It
Mandy Nolan - 8
It’s 6am, the sun is only just nudging its way through the clouds. I am up early to write my Soapbox. I was going to write on something else, but this morning when I woke and stumbled to my desk I saw my open diary: 22 January, Michael’s birthday. He would have been 61 today.
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Mandy Nolan's Soapbox
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Climate Change, Coal and the Flushing Toilet
Mandy Nolan - 1
Sometimes I wonder why people seem to have stopped caring about climate change. Is it because it’s too big? Is it because we have a Prime Minister who is in a dirty love triangle with coal and gas? Or is it the convenience of the flushing toilet?
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Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Climate Change, Coal and the Flushing Toilet
Sometimes I wonder why people seem to have stopped caring about climate change. Is it because it’s too big? Is it because we have a Prime Minister who is in a dirty love triangle with coal and gas? Or is it the convenience of the flushing toilet?
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